Feral Cats

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT FERAL CATS - PAGE 4

Woman studies bluebirds in Mercersburg Mercersburg, Pa. By RICHARD F. BELISLE / Staff Writer Joyce Stuff sees the bluebirds that flit around her farm fields as being as crucial to human survival as canaries were in coal mines. In the old days miners brought canaries deep into their mines. When a bird died they knew the air in the shaft was getting too dangerous for humans to breathe. Stuff, 59, thinks bluebirds can issue a similar warning about the chemicals farmers spread on their fields - pesticides, herbicides and insecticides.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Mack, a 7-month-old English bulldog, represents his breed well and is named after the tough trucks that bear his name. But Mack's tough-looking demeanor belied his stamina Sunday in the 12th annual Walk for the Animals fund-raiser to benefit the Antietam Humane Society in Washington Township, Pa. He was one of a couple of dozen dogs and their owners who started out on a two-mile walk from Summitview Elementary School and back.

FUNKSTOWN -- Less than 36 hours old, a tiny tortoise-shell kitten wasn't even able to open her eyes to see the new mobile spay/neuter clinic on display Sunday afternoon at the Picnic With Your Pooch activity at Next Dimensions Restaurant. But her owners, Tina and Darrell Shank, vowed to return in about eight weeks when "Pooch" is old enough to actually receive the services now available through Promise Animal League Inc. "We have named her Pooch in honor of this event," said Tina Shank as she cradled the newborn kitten.

Here are some of the calls we have received lately: "Since when can a certain town dictate who can live there and who cannot? I am sure as long as the prison has been on Sharpsburg Pike, there has also been natives of Hagerstown committing crimes. If a person is on parole, he is being supervised. Have all of you checked to see if any crimes committed are by people from the prison. " - Maugansville "Rick Mundey, a former center fielder for the Chicago Cubs and a Marine Corps reservist, rescued the American flag from being burned by two protesters during a 1976 baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Animal problems? Here's who to call and what to expect. Humane Society of Washington County: 301-733-2060 Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. After hours, on Sundays and on major holidays, callers will be directed to an answering service and officers will respond to emergency situations only. Injured or sick animals, vicious and dangerous dogs, and cruelty in process are considered emergency situations, Miller said. Issue: A dog bites you or another domesticated animal.

Yet there it was, front page. In no less an authority than the Baltimore Sun. I thought, what's this, a story on Hagerstown, Indiana? But no, it was us. And we were being portrayed in a light that was sort of the metropolitan equivalent of "The Swan. " Us? In a story along with words like "charm," "chic," "bustle," "promising," "attractive," "excitement" and "air-conditioned?" Aw shucks, you don't need to make such a fuss over l'il ole us. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure that I, for one, can handle it. Usually, the only national ink we get is when a deer runs amok or some Little League pop puts a beat-down on an ump. This whole "Hagerstown: It's Not Just for Losers Anymore" angle has caught me a bit off stride.

City made right call on park cats To the editor: I commend the Hagerstown City Council for its enlightened decision regarding managing the feral cat colony at City Park. Animal control and animal welfare groups confirm that removing feral cat colonies provides only a temporary solution, at best. Statistics show other cats soon move in to replace those ousted. Better to manage (spay, neuter, vaccinate, feed and monitor) predominantly healthy animals than to risk exposing residents and park visitors to potential diseases more likely to be transmitted through starving, infected cats that continually reproduce.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Brenda J. Hutchinson, the only Democrat serving on the three-member Morgan County Commission, recently completed her first year, which she calls a good learning experience. "This has been my learning year. I've tried to speak out on the issues I feel strongly about, but I do believe I will improve with time," she said. Hutchinson can take credit for some accomplishments during her "learning year," and high on the list is the establishment of a county noise ordinance that became effective in May 2007.

To the editor: This is in response to Rochelle Howell's letter to the editor about the Humane Society on Sunday, July 13. First of all, what is her position at the Humane Society, and how long has she worked there? Secondly, nobody has said that the Humane Society has an easy job. However, the employees are paid and the organization is funded in large part by county (taxpayers') funds ($500,000 plus, we were told, and a separate amount for spay/neuter). The rescue groups that the Humane Society is so quick to judge and criticize are mostly volunteer organizations that do not receive county funding.